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Senate passes sweeping tax reform bill in big win for GOP

Republicans and President Trump are closer than ever to a long-sought goal

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Updated: 12:26 PM CST Dec 2, 2017

Senate passes sweeping tax reform bill in big win for GOP

Republicans and President Trump are closer than ever to a long-sought goal

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Updated: 12:26 PM CST Dec 2, 2017

Senate passes sweeping tax reform bill in big win for GOP

Republicans and President Trump are closer than ever to a long-sought goal

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Updated: 12:26 PM CST Dec 2, 2017

With 51 of 52 GOP members voting yes, the Senate passed a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax reform bill early Saturday, bringing a major Republican dream closer to fruition.

Now senators will need to reconcile their bill with an already-passed House measure that, like the Senate's, promises an enormous cut in the corporate rate and relief for the middle class. If each chamber passes the reconciled bill, it would go to the desk of President Donald Trump, who hailed the early morning vote.

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"Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate," Trump tweeted. "Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!"

Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!

“Just what the country needs to get growing again,” Majority Mitch McConnell said after the long-awaited success for his party.

Both bills nearly double the standard deduction for individuals and married couples and increase child tax credits, while eliminating personal exemptions and others. Differences include the number of tax brackets – the Senate version keeps it at seven; the House has four – and the Senate’s ends the Obamacare tax penalty if payers don’t buy insurance.

The path to passage in the Senate was difficult compared to the more-conservative House, as some Republicans were wary of original projections that said the bill would increase the deficit by $1.4 trillion over the next decade. The White House claims the plan would reduce the deficit by $2 trillion, though a new estimate says the amended bill would add about $1 trillion.

Final changes to the bill included a roll back of individual cuts after 2026 to offset the debt increases – the corporate rate cut is permanent. An earlier plan sought by Sen. Bob Corker to automatically trigger increases if the bill doesn’t meet its goals was deemed to violate Senate rules. Corker ended up being the lone Republican to votes against the bill.

Other tweaks that turned some senators include a higher deduction for noncorporate, or “pass-through,” businesses, and $10,000 deduction on local property taxes. Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who was on the fence, said he gave his support to the bill after receiving assurances from the White House and Senate leadership to advance a legislative fix to “enact fair and permanent” protection for illegal immigrants who came into the country when they were young.

The successful vote is a welcome achievement for GOP senators, who were smarting after they failed this summer to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. While there are still steps remaining to get a reconciled bill through Congress, Republicans and Trump’s first major piece of legislation of the year is closer than ever. Another loss could have significant repercussions for GOP lawmakers heading into 2018’s crucial mid-term elections.

Democrats were unanimously opposed to the bill, casting it as a handout to corporations and the wealthy.

The bill is “removed from the reality of what the American people need,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He criticized Republicans for releasing the revised, 479-page bill that no one could absorb shortly before the final vote, saying, “The Senate is descending to a new low of chicanery.”